1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for shopping using a handheld wireless device. More specifically it relates to a system and method for preloading pricing information onto a handheld device and then updating pricing information for specific items via scanning of an encoded message by the handheld device. Encoded messages are presented in the form of QR codes that are scanned by the device to obtain pricing update. This automation of the pricing update process during shopping will be appreciated by users who shop for large numbers of items or items whose price may be subject to frequent change, such as items in a grocery store.
Department stores, big box stores, grocery stores, and other stores with large inventory supply often have regular price fluctuations. These price changes may be weekly, monthly, and sometimes daily for special events or holidays. Historically, stores sent out mass mailing materials in the form of advertising circulars to update potential patrons on pricing changes. Advertising circulars, short publications on loose-leaf paper, contained information on products going on sale, such as name of product, manufacturer, size, condition, and sale price. Though this method is still used for special events and holiday sales, many stores have begun using the Internet to reach out to customers. Websites provide an easy to use medium for displaying short terms sales to a large number of people. Weekly and monthly emails are sent to customers informing them of upcoming discounts and sales.
The Internet as a tool for distributing advertising information may be more accessible than advertising circulars to some users, but both of these means cost a user their valuable time. Keeping up with regularly changing price fluctuations requires monitoring of various advertising means prior to or during the organization of a shopping list. Images of shoppers huddled over piles of advertising circulars on a table, while the person clips coupons or jots down sale prices, are familiar scenes for most Americans. Some of the hunching now takes place over a keyboard and mouse instead of a pile of papers, but the effort is the same. Time must be spent combing through various advertising publications, physical and digital, to obtain information on what products are on sale. Often, users must bring the advertisement with them, in the form of a coupon or voucher, in order to obtain the listed pricing. This further expends a user's time as they must collect and organize coupons in order to create a shopping budget.
After entering a store, the user does not have an easy way of checking for further price specials except for asking a store clerk. In large stores, the sales clerks are often assigned to specific departments and may not be aware of special pricing offers in other areas of the store. This can be highly frustrating for bargain shoppers and those on a budget, as they want to make sure that they are getting the best price possible for goods. A system and method are needed that provides a user with a way to obtain updated pricing information from a variety of sources in a convenient, easy to use and timely manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention provides a system and method for shopping using pre-loaded pricing information that is updated at any time via information obtained from scanning a QR code. Users can pre-load generalized pricing information for a particular store or pricing information from several stores for a list of specific items on to a handheld wireless device. The device is capable of scanning barcodes of products for purchase and QR codes associated with advertisements. Scanning of a QR code updates pricing information stored within the device, ensuring that the user obtains up-to-date prices on goods, without having to clip coupons, store advertising circulars or search through emails. The user does not need to be in the store when the QR code scanning takes place. QR codes can be scanned from any location and the pricing information retained for later shopping trips. The prior art fails to describe a system and method that incorporates the updating of pricing information via QR codes at any time after the initial pricing information is obtained.
Dumont U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,071 is directed to a purchase monitoring device, to be used by a shopper in a self-service checkout store having items with bar codes which identify the item and its price, the device including primarily a portable handset having a bar code scanner, which enables pricing and identification data to be displayed on an LED on the handset. Through the selective use of a price check button, a purchase button, and a return button, the price of the item may be checked, added to a running total of purchase items, or removed from a running total of purchased items. Ruppert U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,524 is directed to a personal bar code scanning device for shoppers to track expenditures and speeding the process of checkout, as well as taking advantage of coupons. A microprocessor coupled to a bar code reader, a communication port, an audible feedback device and a touch screen or light pen and display combination carries out bar code scanning in a store as a shopper shops. The inventions described in Dumont and Ruppert require the implementation of storewide communication systems. The present invention does not require such a system and may be easily and cost-effectively implemented at any retail location with a simple handheld mobile device.
Nelson U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,695 is directed to a device for providing product information to customers of a retail establishment. The device is a hand-held unit that contains a detector to identify a product located nearby. The identification can be accomplished through scanning a bar code affixed to the product. Once the product is identified, the device retrieves descriptive information about the product from memory, and displays the information to the customer. Tracy U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,757 is directed to an improved portable shopping system. The shopping system is provided with an improved data presentation system for presenting customer desired data on a portable terminal. The portable terminal includes audio as well as video presentation means to provide customer specific marketing and promote the sale of identified items. The inventions described in the Nelson and Tracy patents are directed primarily to marketing and other retail information rather than efficiently assisting the shopper in both product selection and budget maintenance. The present invention provides consumers with a system and method for setting a budget, and obtaining updated pricing information to ensure accuracy of budgeting.
Burke, U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,681 discloses a system that utilizes a handheld device that is wirelessly connected to a database to provide information about specific goods. The handheld device is capable of scanning and reading a barcode, and then transmitting that barcode information over a wireless signal to a remote server. Information about the product associated with the barcode is returned to the user for the purposes of evaluating a product for potential purchase. This information may include product specifications, consumer reviews, retailer or manufacturer information, and the like. Similar to the invention described in Burke, Harding U.S. Pat. No. 6,978,930 is directed to a shopping system for scanning codes related to products, such as consumer goods and services, and for retrieving data associated with the codes. The system includes a portable, hand-held and battery-operated optical code scanner for scanning, capturing, storing and decoding information related to scanned codes, at least a shopping kiosk having a processor, and at least a host computer operatively coupled to the shopping kiosk. The scanner and the shopping kiosk are configured such that the scanner transfers decoded data to the kiosk, and the kiosk provides the transferred decoded data in a useable format by means of a display monitor and/or a printer. Upon receipt and recognition of the transferred decoded data and/or the identification code, the first host computer selects and retrieves stored information associated with the decoded data. Such retrieved information downloads to the kiosk and is displayed to the identified user.
Both the Burke and Harding inventions require significant investment on the part of the retail owner and involve installation of major wired or wireless systems. These patents do not disclose pre-population of pricing data on a wireless device, to reduce the need for individual wireless transmissions every time an item is scanned. Furthermore, neither of these devices contemplates the use of QR codes for obtaining updated pricing information.
Hammad, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0209749 discloses a system of completing a transaction using a QR code and a virtual wallet. The virtual wallet is stored on a user's cellphone or other mobile device and contains personal financial information such as banking information. When a user shops at a retail store, he or she brings selected items to a store kiosk and uses an optical reader on the kiosk to scan the barcodes of each item. The kiosk keeps a tally of the items scanned and generates a running total of the overall purchase price. After the user is done scanning items, the kiosk generates a quick response, QR code containing information about the order and merchant authorization information. The user scans this code with his or her cell phone and information from the user's digital wallet is then sent to the merchant authorization entity to complete the purchase transaction. This system helps users purchase items without having to provide their personal financial information to a retailer. The system does not disclose the use of QR codes to update pre-stored pricing information on a handheld wireless device. The present invention provides a system that assists users with budgeting on shopping trips and obtaining the most up to date and accurate pricing information for products the user is interested in purchasing.
These prior art devices and systems have several known drawbacks. They all require a retailer to set-up and maintain elements of the system and they do not provide a means for incorporating pricing specials via visual indicia. The present invention provides a system and method that allows users to build shopping lists, pre-load pricing information on a handheld wireless device, and update that pricing information as desired. It substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing budgeting and shopping systems. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.